Commentary upon the Prophecy of Isaiah

Now there is great force in that which is added, for thy sake. For seeing pride, and an insatiable covetous desire to rule, pricked Cyrus forward to this action; and that there were many occasions for which this war was raised, a man would not have thought that the whole world should thus have bin shaken ⟨p. 453⟩in the overthrow of this Monarchy, and that the poor Jews the miserablest of all people under heaven, should by this means have had a way made to return home into their own country. But God protests, that he will give the Persians victory, so as they shall easily conquer all the East, because he favours his Church.

Now there is great force in that which is added, for thy sake. For seeing pride, and an insatiable couetous desire to rule, pricked Cyrus forward to this action; and that there were many occasions for which this war was raised, a man would not haue thought that the whole world should thus haue bin shaken ⟨p. 453⟩in the ouerthrow of this Monarchie, and that the poore Iewes the miserablest of all people vnder heauen, should by this meanes haue had a way made to returne home into their owne countrie. But God protests, that he will giue the Persians victorie, so as they shall easily conquer all the East, because he fauors his Church.

For this cause he shows in the first place, that it is he which is their redeemer, and the holy one, the better to persuade them that he held those whom he had chosen to be his peculiar people dear and precious unto him. Notwithstanding, Object. this seems contrary to that which we have seen before in the 33. Chapter, Woe to thee that robbest, when thou wast not robbed: the Lord meant by this that he would avenge himself upon the cruelty of the Babylonians, and render them that measure which they had met out unto others: now he shows that the Persians took arms by his commandment, that by means thereof he might work his peoples deliverance. Ans. But these things may be easily reconciled, to wit, that the Lord had respect to his people even then whilst he scourged the Chaldeans: for as his providence extends it self over the whole world in general, so hath he a special care of his Church: and as he dearly loves his Saints, so he turns all things to their salvation. It is not without cause then that he saith he sent them to perform this work by his free grace, because he meant thereby to procure the salvation of his Church. In the same sense he adds, that at his commandment he brought them down: for albeit the Medes and Persians